The Book of Job Can Help You When You Suffering

1-2. Why it good for us to read the book of Job?

YOU na read the book of Job this few time? Even though 3,500 years na pass since they write it, plenty people still take this book to be one of the best book in the world. People can praise the person who write this book. And da because he use fine-fine word dem da easy to understand, and it can really touch people heart. Da true da Moses write this book, but da Jehovah tell him what to write.—2 Tim. 3:16.

² The book of Job da important part of the Bible. Why? Because it tell us da the angel dem and everybody living on earth, mon decide whether they love Jehovah and will praise his name. It also teach us about Jehovah good-good quality dem like love, wisdom, justice, and power. For example, the book of Job call Jehovah “the Almighty” plenty time more than any other book in the Bible. It also explain why God allow suffering and it can answer other important question dem da plenty people can ask.

3. Wetin else we can learn when we read the book of Job?

³ When we reading the book of Job it can be just like when somebody on top mountain. When you on top the mountain, you can see all around you good-good. Da the same way when we read the book of Job, we can see good-good how Jehovah feel about our suffering. Let see how the book of Job can help us when we suffering. We coming learn how the book of Job wor coming help the Israelite dem and how it can help us too. We will also learn how we can use it to help other people.

GOD ALLOW JOB TO SUFFER

4. How Job wor different from some Israelite dem in Egypt?

⁴ Job wor living in one land they call Uz during the time the Israelite dem wor slave in Egypt. And maybe Uz wor near Arabia. The time the Israelite dem wor in Egypt, some of them use to worship false gods. But Job wor not like them. He serve Jehovah faithfully. (Josh. 24:14; Ezek. 20:8) Da why Jehovah say: “There is no one like [Job] on the earth.”a (Job 1:8) Job wor really rich and plenty people use to respect him. (Job 1:3) We sure da Satan wor really vex to see da Job wor still faithful to Jehovah, even though plenty people use to know him and respect him!

5. Why Jehovah allow Job to suffer? (Job 1:​20-22; 2:​9, 10)

⁵ Satan say da Job will stop serving Jehovah when he suffer. (Job 1:​7-11; 2:​2-5) Jehovah really use to love Job. But he allow Satan to prove whether the thing he say about Job da true or da not true. (Job 1:​12-19; 2:​6-8) Satan take Job animal dem away, kill his ten children, and make sore to come all over his body. But with all this one, Job not stop serving Jehovah. (Read Job 1:​20-22; 2:​9, 10.) After some time, Jehovah make Job well again, make him rich more than before and give him ten more children. And people start respecting Job again. Jehovah give Job long life and make him to live for another 140 years. So Job wor able to see his grandchildren and their own of grandchildren. (Job 42:​10-13, 16) How this story wor coming help God servant dem way back and wetin we can learn from it today?

6. How Job story wor coming help the Israelite dem? (Also see the picture.)

⁶ How this story wor coming help the Israelite dem? The Israelite dem really suffer the time they wor in Egypt. For example, Joshua and Caleb wor slave for plenty years the time they wor young. And because other Israelite dem not obey Jehovah, it make them to stay in the wilderness for 40 years. But if the Israelite dem wor coming know Job story, it wor coming help they and their children dem who wor coming live in the future. They wor coming know da Satan the one can make people to suffer. And they wor coming understand the reason why God can allow people to suffer. They wor also coming understand da Jehovah love his servant dem who can remain faithful to him when they going through problem and he can bless them for it.

7-8. How the book of Job can help us when we suffering? Give one example.

⁷ Wetin we can learn from Job example? Today, plenty people na stop believing in God because they can’t understand why bad things can happen to good people. Let look at Hazelb example. She from Rwanda. When she wor young, she use to believe in God. But later on, her whole life change. Her ma and pa divorce. Then her ma marry another man, and this man start treating her bad. Later on, one man rape her. When she go to her church for comfort, she not get it. After some time, Hazel tell God say: “God, I na pray to you and I being doing good-good thing dem, but you just making me to suffer. So I will not worship you again and I will do anything to make myself happy.” Like Hazel, plenty people na hear lie-lie thing dem about God and they believe da God making them to suffer. We can really feel bad because they not know the truth about God and we can really want help them!

⁸ We na learn from the book of Job da Jehovah not responsible for our suffering, but da Satan! We na also learn da when people suffering, we mon not say da they suffering because they do something bad. The Bible say “time and unexpected events” can happen to anybody anytime. (Eccl. 9:11; Job 4:​1, 8) We na also learn da when we going through problem and we remain faithful to Jehovah, we will make him happy and we will show da Satan da liar. (Job 2:3; Prov. 27:11) We grateful da we na learn this thing dem from the Bible because we know the real reason why good people can suffer. Later on, Hazel start studying the Bible with Jehovah Witnesses. When she learn da God not responsible for her suffering, her whole life change. She say: “I pray to God again and tell him everything da wor in my heart. Even though I say I wor not coming worship him again, but da not what I really wanted to do. I say it because, da time I not really know him. Now-now, I know da Jehovah love me and I really happy to know it.” Ehn we grateful to know the reason why God allow suffering? Now, let see how Job example can help us when we going through problem.

HOW JOB EXAMPLE CAN HELP US TO BEAR OUR PROPLEM DEM?

9. Wetin Job do when he wor suffering? (James 5:11)

⁹ Try to imagine the way Job suffer. His one use to be sitting down in the ashes, with sore all on his body. The sore spoil his whole skin and he wor dry. Job wor really in pain. The only thing Job wor having strength to do, da wor to use breaking pieces of clay pot to scratch his body and complain about the pain he wor going through. But Job wor not just fighting for his life, he continue to trust Jehovah and to be faithful to him. (Read James 5:11.) Wetin help Job to continue to be faithful?

10. Wetin show da Job wor having strong friendship with Jehovah? Explain.

¹⁰ Job wor free to tell Jehovah how he wor feeling. (Job 10:​1, 2; 16:20) For example, in chapter 3, Job tell Jehovah da he wor feeling bad about the thing dem da wor happening to him. And he wor thinking da Jehovah wor the one who wor making him to suffer. Then three of his friend dem continue to tell him da God wor punishing him for his sins. But anytime they tell Job this one, he can say da he faithful to Jehovah. Maybe some of the thing dem Job say show da certain time he wor thinking da he righteous more than God. (Job 10:​1-3; 32:​1, 2; 35:​1, 2) Job also say da sometime he use to say some thing dem da not correct. And da because he wor trying hard to prove da he faithful to Jehovah. (Job 6:​3, 26) Then in chapter 31, Job ask God to answer him and tell him why he allow him to suffer. (Job 31:35) But Job wor wrong to force God to tell him the reason why he wor suffering. From what we na learn, we know now da the way Job talk with Jehovah show da he wor having strong friendship with him. And he wor sure da Jehovah wor coming judge him the right way.

11. Wetin Jehovah do to help Job?

¹¹ After some time, Jehovah make heavy breeze to blow and he answer Job through the breeze. But he not explain the reason why Job wor suffering. When Job tell Jehovah how he wor feeling or when he say he not do anything wrong, Jehovah not punish him. But Jehovah teach Job the same way good father can teach his son. And da wor the best way to help Job. Because of this one, Job humble hisself and understand da he not know everything about Jehovah. He also repent from all the bad-bad thing dem he say. (Job 31:6; 40:​4, 5; 42:​1-6) How this story wor coming help God servant dem way back and wetin we can learn from it today?

12. Wetin the Israelite dem wor coming learn from Job example?

¹² How this story wor coming help the Israelite dem? The Israelite dem wor coming learn from the thing da happen to Job. Let look at Moses example. It wor not easy for him to lead the Israelite dem, because they use to disobey Jehovah plenty time and make Moses to feel bad. Most of the time, the Israelite dem use to complain against Jehovah when they going through problem. But Moses wor not like dem. He use to pray to Jehovah to help him when he going through problem. (Ex. 16:​6-8; Num. 11:​10-14; 14:​1-4, 11; 16:​41, 49; 17:5) Job example wor also coming help Moses the time Jehovah correct him. For example, just before the Israelite dem enter the Promise Land, Moses get vex with them and the Bible say he “spoke rashly with his lips.” He not give Jehovah the praise da suppose to go to him. (Ps. 106:​32, 33) And because of da, Jehovah not allow Moses to enter the Promise Land. (Deut. 32:​50-52) Even though this one wor not easy for Moses, he humble hisself and learn from it. Job example wor also coming help the faithful Israelite dem who live after Moses time. They wor coming think on Job story and tell Jehovah how they wor feeling. They wor also coming remember da they not righteous more than Jehovah. They wor coming learn how to be humble and listen to Jehovah when he correct them.

13. How Job example can help us to continue serving Jehovah? (Hebrews 10:36)

¹³ Wetin we can learn from Job example? We need strength to continue serving Jehovah because we going through plenty problem today. (Read Hebrews 10:36.) For example, maybe we really sick, we worrying too much or we get family problem. Or maybe our friend or family member na die or we going through other serious problem. (Prov. 12:18) But we learn from the book of Job da we can tell Jehovah how we feeling and be convince da he will hear our prayer. (1 John 5:14) Jehovah will not get vex when we tell him how we feeling, even if sometime we say some thing dem da not correct. But he will give us the strength and the wisdom for us to continue serving him. (2 Chron. 16:9; Jas. 1:5) Sometime, Jehovah can help us to correct the way we can think the same way he correct Job. He can do it by giving us advice through the Bible, our publications, the elders or our friend dem. (Heb. 12:​5-7) Just how it wor good for Job to listen to Jehovah, da the same way it good for us to be humble and accept any advice Jehovah give us. (2 Cor. 13:11) Ehn da good-good lesson dem here we can learn from the book of Job? Now, let see how we can use Job example to help other people.

USE JOB EXAMPLE TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE

14. What one way we can explain why we can suffer?

¹⁴ Somebody na ever ask you why we can suffer? How you answer da question? Maybe you use the Bible to tell them about the thing da happen in the garden of Eden. Maybe you start by saying one wicked spirit name Satan lie to our first parent Adam and Eve, and make them to disobey God. (Gen. 3:​1-6) Then you tell them da we can suffer and die because Adam and Eve disobey God. (Rom. 5:12) Finally, you explain to them da God allowing plenty time to pass to show to everybody da what Satan say da lie. And also for us to preach the good news da in the future God will end suffering and we will enjoy life forever on earth. (Rev. 21:​3, 4) Da good way here to answer da question and it na help plenty people to understand why we can suffer.

15. How we can use Job story to explain why we can suffer? (Also see the pictures.)

¹⁵ We can also use Job story to help somebody understand why we can suffer. The first thing we mon do da to tell the person thank you for asking da good question. Then we can tell them da one good man in the Bible name Job, ask this same question the time he wor suffering. He wor even thinking da God wor the one making him to suffer. (Job 7:​17-21) The person will even be happy to know da people who live way back ask this same question too. Then we can tell the person say, da not God wor making Job to suffer, but da Satan. The Devil wor doing it to prove da human being can only serve God when things alright with them, but when they suffering they will stop serving him. We can explain da even though God wor not the one who make Job to suffer, but he allow it. This one show da God trust his faithful human servant dem da they able to prove da Satan da liar. And because Job stay faithful to Jehovah even though he suffer, Jehovah bless him. So we can comfort other people by telling them da not Jehovah can make us to suffer.

16. Give example about how Job story can help somebody who feel da God not care for them.

¹⁶ Let see how Job story help one man name Mario. One day in 2021, one sister wor preaching on the phone. The first person she call, da wor Mario. She read one Bible verse to him da show da God can listen to our prayer and da he na promise plenty good-good thing dem in the future. When she ask Mario what he think about the Bible verse, he say: “I wor just writing letter to my family to tell them da I love them before I can kill myself. I believe in God, but I wor feeling da he not care for me.” When she call the second time, they talk about Job and the suffering da he go through. Mario wanted to read the whole book of Job. So the sister send him the link for the Bible on jw.org. What wor the result? Mario agree to study the Bible and he wor happy to learn more about the God who love him and get interest in him.

17. Why we grateful to Jehovah da he put the book of Job in the Bible? (Job 34:12)

¹⁷ The Bible get power to change our life and to even comfort people da suffering. (Heb. 4:12) We really happy da Jehovah put Job story in the Bible! (Job 19:​23, 24) The book of Job tell us da “for a certainty, God does not act wickedly.” (Read Job 34:12.) It also teach us the reason why God allow suffering and how we can bear it. And it can help us to comfort people da suffering. In the next article, we will talk about how Job story can help us to give good advice.